Correlation between angiographic diagnosis and histology of pancreatic insulomas

The paper is based on experiences gained from successful angiographic localisation of nine insulomas. The histology of the tumours has been compared with the degree of contrast accumulation during angiography. Good vascularisation and many sinusoids within the tumour result in better visualisation on the angiograms, but tumours without this histological pattern may also be located. Other factors are also significant, for instance high kilovoltage may blur even a well-vascularised tumour. Up to now the total number of reported successful angiographic demonstrations include 29 β-cell adenomas and seven carcinomas. False negative examinations have been reported in 12 cases, false positive in four.